Keeping a Pet Parrot

Having a pet parrot is great fun but it’s also work - more work than a lot of other pets like cats and dogs. Having a pet parrot is like having a companion with you all the time. There is a lot to do to keep them happy and healthy. It’s important that someone getting started with parrots knows exactly what’s involved and what their bird will expect. Once you are willing to except the responsibility of a pet parrot the fun and enjoyment you will get is tremendous.

There are lots of different species of parrots, and they all require different care. However, there are certain common factors that are important to all parrot species:

• Nutrition – Parrot diets may vary slightly from one species to another, but, in general, they should consist of fresh fruits and vegetables, parrot pellets, quality vitamin enriched parrot seed mix, and daily fresh water.

• Cleanliness – The cage should be cleaned daily with water and mild soap. Always wash your hands before handling a parrot, or preparing food, to reduce the risk of bacterial infections. Human saliva contains bacteria which are very harmful to parrots, so you mustn’t allow a parrot to place its beak into your mouth or nose.

• Cages – Regular inspections of the cage should be made, looking for such things as sharp metal edges that have been caused by the parrot chewing the cage. The cage must be big enough to allow the parrot to fully spread out its wings, and there should be sufficient room for four large parrot toys.

• Socialization – Parrots need lots of social interaction to remain healthy. Therefore, you should place their cage in an area of your home where you and your family spend the majority of your time, so that the parrot gets lots of human interaction. However, do not choose the kitchen as the place to site the cage, because cooking may give off chemicals that are toxic to parrots.

• Grooming – As strange as it may seem, parrots actually require quite a lot of grooming. Nails and beaks never stop growing, and need to be clipped about every four weeks. If you fail to do this, they can easily snag on various parts of the cage, and possibly injure your parrot. Daily baths with fresh water are required to keep their feathers in good condition.

• Hand feeding a parrot baby is not really difficult. The danger is the possibility of accidentally aspirating the baby. This can happen any time during the hand feeding process. Maybe the baby gets excited and jumps just as you put the food into his mouth. Maybe he tries to fly or explore and isn't quite expecting the food that you are trying to feed him. Maybe you just get impatient when he is more interested in the wall behind the counter than the food you are trying to feed him. Whatever the reason, it only takes once. The result might be that enough food is shot into his lungs that he dies in your hands in a matter of seconds, or maybe just a little food gets into the lungs and he gags and coughs for a couple of minutes and then seems fine. In the second case, you may notice that he is breathing heavier a week or so later. A fungal infection has started to develop in his lungs from the fluid in you put into them. Over the next couple of weeks you will watch your baby die slowly as his ability to breath becomes more difficult. Aspiration pneumonia can take 4-6 weeks, or more, to kill the baby - a very slow hard death. Even an experienced breeder and hand feeder can accidentally lose a baby now and then to aspiration, but if you lose your baby, it's the only one that you have.

• In addition to the dangers of hand feeding, there are so many other dangers that can be crippling or life threatening for the baby if they are not recognized in time. Problems such as splay leg, scissor beak, ruptured air sac, stretched crop, constricted toe, stretched crop, dehydration, and many other possible problems can be corrected if recognized soon enough. An inexperienced feeder may not see a problem until it is too late to correct it. Even if they see that there is a problem, they may not know how to fix it. I frequently get emails from breeders that have problems with babies and don't know what to do about them. Most inexperienced people would be unlikely to see the problem until it was too late to correct it.